Sleepwalker Extraordinaire

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I Forgot That I Need You

Obviously I haven’t been writing very much on here lately. In fact, I can practically see the cobwebs and dust bunnies in the corners of my screen (much like the cobwebs and dust bunnies that have taken permanent residence in my real life house). I’ve managed to publish a post here and there, but mostly I’ve been working, schooling, and repeating those two tasks forever and ever until death do us part.

Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic. I’m alive, but the work 40 hours plus school 25 hours schedule I have been maintaining for the last year has been really stressful. And when I’m stressed and already writing a lot during the day for the job and for school, I have a hard time coming home and finding writing inspiration. So I haven’t been writing .

But somewhere along the way, I forgot that I don’t write for followers, shares, and funsies (granted all those things are neat!), I write to keep myself sane. I started writing for therapy, my counselor quickly saw that if I’m not creating, I’m overthinking and overanalyzing. I write to get out the excess energy that builds up inside me and finds unique ways of exploding.

My anxious energy/stress used to explode out of me as panic attacks. I learned to overcome the panic attacks and it has been about six years since I’ve had one. Hallelujah! But because the human body is incredibly needy, powerful, and communicative, my body found a different way to handle stress and to tell me to calm the %#$* down: eczema. I’ve had eczema since I was 18 months old, so it’s not a new thing for me. In fact, many older blog posts on TheOtherCourtney are dedicated to itching/skin problems. But a recent and ongoing eczema flare has reminded me (not so subtly) that I need to take time to design pretty things, write, and care for the beast inside me that demands I create. No matter how silly or small the project is.

So, I started designing iPhone wallpapers, desktop backgrounds, special design projects for work, cards for loved ones, anything that required use of my right brain. It’s quite remarkable, the impact it has already had on my well-being. I swear I heard my skin sigh a breath of relief and say, “Ahh, that’s better.” I guess in the past year, I became so focused on trying to keep my head above water with school and work, I forgot that when I’m taking time to write and create, I don’t need to tread water as much. I can float easier, I can concentrate better on my daily tasks, I don’t nervously itch my poor skin as much.

Here are a few iPhone 6 wallpapers I’ve made so far. Nothing fancy and don’t worry I’m not under the illusion that I’m a graphic designer beacause I can figure out how to use an easy web-based design program, but it’s about the process. It’s taking the time to let my body and mind take a break from the “needs” of every day life and pay attention to the “wants”– the things that I find fulfillment in. Writing is one of those things, so I will be back soon. Okay?

Let me know if you want a custom Desktop/iPhone wallpaper/print or any other type of digital design 🙂